Board edge coating apparatus

ABSTRACT

A vertical curtain of link chains is suspended from an apertured manifold supplying coating fluid to saturate the curtain. The curtain engages and coats the edge of a board which is conveyed longitudinally past the curtain. Excess fluid falls into a reservoir below the curtain and is recirculated to the manifold. In other embodiments, several manifolds with several curtains are provided to simultaneously coat the edges of several boards. The manifolds are mounted on a carriage which is reciprocable on a supporting frame so as to move the curtains of chains laterally toward and away from the board edges.

[ 5] Apr. 9, 1974 BOARD EDGE COATING APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Carl L. Kluttz, 7121 Longview Dr.,

Richmond, Va. 23225 22 Filed: June 28,1972

21 Appl. No.: 267,207

[52] U.S. Cl 118/226, 118/241, ll8/DIG. 9

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS ltaly 118/324 Primary ExaminerJohn P. McIntosh 5 7] ABSTRACT A vertical curtain of link chains is suspended from an apertured manifold supplying coating fluid to saturate the curtain. The curtain engages and coats the edge of a board which is conveyed longitudinally past the curtain. Excess fluid falls into a reservoir below the curtain and is recirculated to the manifold. In other embodiments, several manifolds with several curtains are provided to simultaneously coat the edges of several boards. The manifolds are mounted on a carriage which is reciprocable on a supporting frame so as to move the curtains of chains laterally toward and away from the board edges.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENIEUAPR 91914 sum 2 or 3 :HMENIEUAPR 9 I914 SHEET 3 (IF 3 BOARD EDGE COATING APPARATUS This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for coating side edges of boards with paint or the like, and in particular the invention concerns itself with applying paint to side edges of hardboard siding.

Hardboard siding is usually made in sheets 4 feet wide and 8 or 12 feet long, the sheets being cut into strips or boards 1 foot wide, suitable for use as weatherboard siding on homes. These strips or boards are primed with paint to protect the board after installation 7 p and to provide a semi-finished siding.

In accordance with conventional practice, the edges of the boards are coated by passing through a system of automatic airless spray guns which coats only the edge. The board then travels through a double reverse roller which coats the flat sides and then is oven-dried. Difficulties have been experienced in keeping the spray guns operating properly to coat the board edges. Also, there is an excessive waste of paint due to overspray and unreclaimable material. Nearby machinery contamination is also a problem;

The principal object of the invention is to eliminate the above outlined disadvantages incident to the use of conventional spray guns. This is attained by providing a board edge coating apparatus which utilizes paintsaturated curtains of linkchains which engage and coat the edges of boards traveling past them on conveyors. The curtains of chains are suspended from manifolds by which paint is supplied to the curtains, and excess paint dropping from the curtains is gathered in a reservoir and recirculated to the supply manifolds.

As such, the apparatus of the invention is highly efficient, requires minimum operator time, operates at any speed of the board conveyors, and reclaims virtually all of the unused paint. It also eliminates machinery contamination due to overspray, reduces fire hazard, simplifies required ventilation, eliminates board rejects due to gun malfunction, and has a very low maintenance cost.

With the foregoing more important object and features in view and such other objects and features which may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in'conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the board edge coating apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 3-.3 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a modified embodiment of the apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing another modified embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 77 in FIG. 6.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, more particularly to FIGS. 1-3 thereof, the same show one embodiment of the board edge coating apparatus of the invention designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The same is to be used for applying a coating of paint to a side edge 11 of a board B which travels in the direction of its length, indicated at 12 in FIG. 1, being conveyed past the apparatus in any suitable manner, as for example by a conveyor belt 13.

The apparatus comprises a horizontally elongated,

pipe-like manifold 14 which is suitably mounted in a fixed position above and at one side of the board conveyor belt 13, in parallel to the direction of travel 12 of the board B. Along its bottom, the manifold 14 is formed with a row of outlet apertures 15', and a plurality of hangers 16 are secured to the underside of the manifold at longitudinally spaced points, the several hangers being located directly below the respective outlet apertures 15, as will be apparent from FIG. 3. The hangers 16, which may be formed of wire, extend transversely of the manifold, and each hanger carries or has suspended therefrom a plurality of link chains 17. It will be apparent from FIG. 2 that the chains 17 suspended from each hanger 16 are disposed in a plane extending transversely of the manifold 14. Also, the several groups of chains suspended from the several hangers l6 coact to form what may be referred to as a curtain of link chains, designated collectively as C, the curtain being disposed in a vertical plane, substantially coincident with the manifold 14 from which it is suspended. The mounting of the manifold 14 is such that one side of the curtain C engages the side edge 11 of the board B when the board is conveyed past the curtain in the direction of the arrow 12 by the conveyor belt 13, as will be apparent from FIG. 2.

Suitable coating fluid such as paint, indicated at P, is supplied into the manifold 14 through both ends of the latter, as by a pair of branches 18 of a supply conduit 19. This assures that the paint in the manifold 14 is distributed evenly through the outlet apertures 15 onto the several link chains 17 which constitute the link chain curtain C. Thus, the chain curtain becomes saturated with the paint, and as the board B travels past the curtain on the conveyor belt 13, the paint is transferred from the curtain onto the side edge 11 of the board.

A collector pan or reservoir 20 is provided below the chain curtain C so that all paint which passes downwardly through and along the curtain and is not used in coating the board edge 1 1 eventually gravitates into the reservoir, as indicated at P in FIG. 2. A suitable pump 21, having an intake 22 in the reservoir 20, is used to recirculate the paint from the reservoir through the conduit 19 and conduit branches 18 to the manifold 14.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a modified embodiment of the invention which is capable of coating the side edges 11 of several boards B simultaneously. The boards are conveyed by separate conveyor belts 13 in spaced parallel relation, their direction of travel being indicated at 12 in FIG. 7. Several link chain curtains C are provided, one between the spaced adjacent side edges 'of every two boards and also one at the outside edge of the two outermost boards in the set, as will be apparent from FIG. 4, so that both side edges of each board are painted when the boards travel through the apparatus.

The several chain link curtains C, of the same construction as already described in connection with the embodiment 10, are suspended from individual manifolds 34. These extend in parallel to the direction of board travel 12 and are supported by a carriage 35 which is movably suspended by sets of links 36 from an elongated supporting frame 37. The latter extends transversely above the set of boards B and is held in its elevated position by suitable legs 38.

An electric motor 39 is secured to the frame 37 and drives a disc 40 which has eccentrically connected thereto one end of a link 41. The other end of the link 41 is connected to the carriage 35 and it will be apparent that when the motor is in operation, the link 41 will impart a reciprocating movement to the carriage 35, reciprocating the same in the direction of the arrow 42, that is, transversely of the set of boards B. The several manifolds 34, of course, are reciprocated with the carriage, thus also reciprocating the several chain link curtains C laterally toward and away from or between the side edges of the boards. This assures that both side edges of adjacent boards become coated, and that the coating on each edge is uniformly applied, which is particularly useful if the board edges are uneven.

Excess paint from the curtains C drops into a collector pan 43 and gravitates into a reservoir 44 where it is picked up by the inlet 45 ofa pump 46 and delivered into a conduit 47 having several branches 48 leading to the respective manifolds 34. If the manifolds 34 have a sufficiently large capacity, the paint supply thereto may be from only one end thereof, while still obtaining uniform distribution of paint through the manifold outlet apertures to the chain curtains C.

Another modified embodiment of the apparatus designated generally as 50 and shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is similar to the embodiment 30 in FIGS. 4 and and is also used for simultaneously coating both side edges of a plurality of boards B traveling along the conveyor belts 13. In this instance, however, the manifolds 14 from which the several curtains C are suspended are of the type shown in FIGS. l3 where each manifold is supplied with paint from both ends by a pair of conduit branches 18. The conduit branches in each pair are connected by a T-coupling 51 to a central pipe 52, and the several pipes 52 of the several manifold units are supplied with paint by a main, central conduit 53, fed by the pump 46 from the paint reservoir 44.

The several manifolds 14 have their conduit branches 18 secured by suitable clamps 54 to a reciprocable carriage 55 having rollers 56 movable along the supporting frame 57. The carriage is reciprocated by the link 41 eccentrically connected to the disc 40 driven by the motor 39. The frame 57 is supported by legs 58 having telescopic extensions 59. This permits an adjustment in the height of the frame 57 and also in the position of the curtains C in relation to the boards B. Suitable braces 60 may be provided between the frame 57 and the upper portions of the legs 58.

The pipes 52 extending from the main conduit 53 to the couplings 51 of the several manifold units are in the form of flexible hoses which facilitate the reciprocating movement of the carriage 55 with the manifolds 14 while the main conduit 53 remains relatively stationary.

While in the foregoing there have been described and shown the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications and equivalents may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for coating an edge of a board traveling in the direction of its length, the combination of an elongated manifold parallel to the direction of board travel, a vertical curtain of link chains suspended from said manifold and adapted to engage a board edge, said manifold being provided with a row of outlet apertures whereby coating fluid in the manifold may saturate said curtain of chains and coat a board edge engaged by and traveling past said curtain, a reservoir for excess fluid provided below said curtain of chains, means for recirculating fluid from said reservoir to said manifold, and a plurality of transversely elongated hangers secured at longitudinally spaced points to the underside of said manifold below the respective outlet apertures, said hangers carrying said chains.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said curtain of chains comprises a plurality of groups of chains suspended on each of said hangers, the chains in each group being juxtaposed in a plane transverse of the manifold.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 which is further characterized in that said manifold is stationary.

4. In an apparatus for coating an edge of a board traveling in the direction of its length, the combination of an elongated manifold parallel to the direction of board travel, a vertical curtain of link chains suspended from said manifold and adapted to engage a board edge, said manifold being provided with a row of outlet apertures whereby coating fluid in the manifold may saturate said curtain of chains and coat a board edge engaged by and traveling past said curtain, a reservoir for excess fluid provided below said curtain of chains, means for recirculating fluid from said reservoir to said manifold, and means mounting said manifold for reciprocating movement in a transverse direction whereby to reciprocate said curtain of chains laterally, and means for reciprocating the manifold.

5. In an apparatus for coating edges of a set of spaced juxtaposed boards traveling in the direction of their length, the combination of a supporting frame adapted to extend transversely across a set of boards, a reciprocable carriage supported by said frame, a set of elongated manifolds mounted on said carriage in spaced relation to each other and parallel to the direction of board travel, a set of vertical curtains of link chains suspended from the respective manifolds and adapted to engage the board edges, said manifolds being provided with rows of outlet apertures whereby coating fluid in the manifolds may saturate said curtains of chains and coat the board edges engaged by and traveling past the curtains, means on said frame for reciprocating said carriage in a direction transverse to the board movement, a reservoir for excess fluid provided below said curtains of chains, and means for recirculating fluid from said reservoir to said manifolds.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein each of said curtains of chains comprises a plurality of groups of chains suspended at longitudinally spaced points from the associated manifold, the chains in each group being juxtaposed in a plane transverse of the manifold.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 together with a plurality of transversely elongated hangers secured at longitudinally spaced points to each manifold below the respective outlet apertures therein, said hangers carrying the respective groups of chains.

manifold below the respective outlet apertures, said hangers carrying the respective groups of chains, and whereby coating fluid in the manifold may saturate said curtain of chains and coat a board edge engaged by and traveling past said curtain, and means for supplying coating fluid to said manifold. 

1. In an apparatus for coating an edge of a board traveling in the direction of its length, the combination of an elongated manifold parallel to the direction of board travel, a vertical curtain of link chains suspended from said manifold and adapted to engage a board edge, said manifold being provided with a row of outlet apertures whereby coating fluid in the manifold may saturate said curtain of chains and coat a board edge engaged by and traveling past said curtain, a reservoir for excess fluid provided below said curtain of chains, means for recirculating fluid from said reservoir to said manifold, and a plurality of transversEly elongated hangers secured at longitudinally spaced points to the underside of said manifold below the respective outlet apertures, said hangers carrying said chains.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said curtain of chains comprises a plurality of groups of chains suspended on each of said hangers, the chains in each group being juxtaposed in a plane transverse of the manifold.
 3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 which is further characterized in that said manifold is stationary.
 4. In an apparatus for coating an edge of a board traveling in the direction of its length, the combination of an elongated manifold parallel to the direction of board travel, a vertical curtain of link chains suspended from said manifold and adapted to engage a board edge, said manifold being provided with a row of outlet apertures whereby coating fluid in the manifold may saturate said curtain of chains and coat a board edge engaged by and traveling past said curtain, a reservoir for excess fluid provided below said curtain of chains, means for recirculating fluid from said reservoir to said manifold, and means mounting said manifold for reciprocating movement in a transverse direction whereby to reciprocate said curtain of chains laterally, and means for reciprocating the manifold.
 5. In an apparatus for coating edges of a set of spaced juxtaposed boards traveling in the direction of their length, the combination of a supporting frame adapted to extend transversely across a set of boards, a reciprocable carriage supported by said frame, a set of elongated manifolds mounted on said carriage in spaced relation to each other and parallel to the direction of board travel, a set of vertical curtains of link chains suspended from the respective manifolds and adapted to engage the board edges, said manifolds being provided with rows of outlet apertures whereby coating fluid in the manifolds may saturate said curtains of chains and coat the board edges engaged by and traveling past the curtains, means on said frame for reciprocating said carriage in a direction transverse to the board movement, a reservoir for excess fluid provided below said curtains of chains, and means for recirculating fluid from said reservoir to said manifolds.
 6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein each of said curtains of chains comprises a plurality of groups of chains suspended at longitudinally spaced points from the associated manifold, the chains in each group being juxtaposed in a plane transverse of the manifold.
 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 together with a plurality of transversely elongated hangers secured at longitudinally spaced points to each manifold below the respective outlet apertures therein, said hangers carrying the respective groups of chains.
 8. In an apparatus for coating an edge of a board traveling in the direction of its length, the combination of an elongated manifold parallel to the direction of board travel, a vertical curtain of link chains suspended from said manifold and adapted to engage a board edge, said manifold being provided with a row of outlet apertures, a plurality of transversely elongated hangers secured at longitudinally spaced points to the underside of said manifold below the respective outlet apertures, said hangers carrying the respective groups of chains, and whereby coating fluid in the manifold may saturate said curtain of chains and coat a board edge engaged by and traveling past said curtain, and means for supplying coating fluid to said manifold. 